Coffee Agroforestry Holds Promise For Smallholder Growers In Malawi – CoffeeTalk

In the villages below Nyika Plateau in northern Malawi’s Rumphi district, coffee is a common crop grown in back and front yards or open fields where maize would have been cultivated. Coffee is a member of a coffee agroforestry project developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Slow Food Coffee Coalition (SFCC), an international network that campaigns for sustainable coffee value chains. In 2022, the two organizations launched a pilot project to promote coffee produced under agroforestry among farmers in Malawi and Uganda.

Agroforestry is a practice where farmers grow trees and shrubs with an agricultural crop or animal production. The system can help farmers ensure food security, increase incomes, preserve biodiversity, and adapt to effects of climate change. Mhango, a 22-year-old coffee farmer, is one of the thousands of small-scale farmers who are the bedrock of coffee production in the largely mountainous parts of northern Malawi.

However, coffee occupies a small part of Malawi’s overall agricultural exports. In 2020, agricultural products accounted for 70% of exports, with tobacco making up 51%, while coffee was only 11%. Coffee is king among its smallholder growers, as it has allowed her to build a decent house and educate her three children.

A 2023 study by local researchers on coffee production in the northern region highlights pests and diseases, unpredictable rainfall, inadequate farm inputs and extension services, an unstable market, and unreliable source of seeds and seedlings among the many factors impacting coffee yields. The study calls for intervention by the government and development partners to help address the challenges and ensure high productivity and sustainable coffee production.

The FAO and SFCC project has trained farmers in coffee agroforestry, established demonstration sites, and conducted capacity-building sessions on how farmers can improve coffee quality to attract new and international markets. It has also trained them in participatory guarantee systems (PGS), a locally-focused quality assurance system which certifies producers based on active participation of stakeholders. Organics International, previously known as the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, promotes the principles of health, ecology, fairness, and care as the basis for organic agricultural production.

The SFCC also aims to bridge production and market deficiencies by sharing global market links with producers. Since joining the coalition, the growers in Rumphi have started selling their coffee to European markets that recognize traditional and sustainable food production systems. This is a milestone for them, and many companies and individuals are enquiring about the Phoka coffee.

In Malawi, small coffee farmers are increasingly adopting agroforestry methods to improve their farming practices. These farmers, part of the Phoka cooperative, are sorting coffee beans on drying racks at their storehouse on the slopes of Nyika Plateau. They have signed contracts with buyers from Belgium, allowing them to produce and process their coffee in the best conditions possible. The farmers intercrop with various plants, such as banana, avocado, mango, and fish-poison bean, which helps deter pests and reduces production costs.

Precious Chipeta, a government agriculture extension adviser in the area, says that over 60% of the coffee farmers he works with have adopted agroforestry coffee production. This adoption rate has surged in recent years due to the negative effects of climate change and environmental degradation on their farming. Coffee is grown in steep areas, which are easily swept through by running water and landslides. Trees support the land and assist in moisture retention, improving soils through decomposition of leaves and shading of coffee during certification. Intercropping coffee with fruit trees and plants can also help tackle land ownership wrangles in the area as the population grows.

Studies have shown that coffee agroforestry sequesters carbon dioxide. One study conducted in Uganda, Africa’s second-largest coffee producer, found that coffee agroforestry systems sequestered more soil organic carbon compared to coffee monocrop methods. However, building the market remains the biggest challenge for the farmers under the Phoka co-op. They need to identify stable buyers who can support farmers with other operational costs, as well as more capital to replace old processing equipment, improve warehousing facilities, and manage transportation of the produce to markets.

A report on the project launched during a global workshop on coffee at the FAO headquarters in Rome in July this year shows the potential of coffee agroforestry as a sustainable agricultural model that addresses the pressing challenges of climate change and redefines the future of coffee farming. The FAO and the SFCC are calling for increased adoption of agroforestry through greater access to finance for producers, enhanced technical support, and revised government policies supporting coffee produced through agroforestry.

For Mhango, the initiatives under the pilot project have helped strengthen the farmers’ motivation to continue growing the crop. For some, dropping growing coffee has never been an option, even more now that they can find international markets and be better rewarded for their hard work.

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